Fireplaces, Hot Chocolate, and Marshmallows
by BeetleChe13
Summary: When a transfer student comes to Hogwarts, Draco's world turns upside-down, and Hogwarts as he knows it will never be the same again. DM/OC This was my first fic that I wrote years and years ago, so flames are useless and will be used to make smores.
1. chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Hermione was so excited. Her best friend, Britney, was coming to Hogwarts. Hermione had already filled Britney in on the basics, so she'd be prepared for her classes.

The door to the Hogwarts dining hall opened, and all of the first years came into the room, and were led by Hagrid. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione spotted Britney. She waved to her. Britney flashed back a nervous smile. She was the only new student who wasn't a first year, so she'd be sorted first. _'I'm going to be a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw, I just know it,'_ she thought negatively.

Professor McGonagall pulled out a scroll to begin calling out the names to be sorted. (After the Sorting Hat sang his little song, of course.)

"Handley, Britney," she called.

_'Oh great, here goes,' _she thought as she made her way down the aisle, conscience that who knows how many pairs of eyes were on her.

Professor McGonagall grabbed the Sorting Hat and had placed it on her head before she could say "quidditch".

"Oh my!" he said immediately. "This shall be a hard decision indeed. What great potential. Oh, not a Slytherin, ay? You'd do just fine in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Are you sure about that? All right then, GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table exploded into cheers, especially Hermione, as she made her way to the empty seat next to Hermione, which she had, without a doubt, reserved.

"Hey," she said as she gave Britney a hug. "I can't believe you're in Gryffindor! I guess you just got lucky, huh? Oh, I want to introduce you to my friends you've heard so much about. This is Ron Weasley," she said as she pointed to Ron. Ron flashed Britney a smile. "And this here is Harry Potter."

Britney leaned over slightly to get a better look. "Hi, nice to meet you," she said politely.

Harry noticed that she hadn't gaped or stared, which was odd, because he knew that she knew exactly who he was, and people acted funny around him. It's not that he expected them to do it, he was just becoming oddly accustomed to it. He really liked being treated as a normal person. "Hi," he replied warmly.

About 10 minutes later, after all the names had been called, Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet, and the hall immediately filled with silence. "Welcome," he began, "to a new year at Hogwarts! I'm proud to say that this is the best group of students I've seen in years." (There were a few cheers for saying that.) "So, before we begin the feast, I'd like to say a few words to you all: Nitwit! Flubber! Oddment! Squeak! Thank you," and he sat back down.

Britney began to laugh, as she caught the joke. Harry, Ron, and everyone else clapped instead. She thought Dumbledore was quite witty. _'I'll have to remember that one,'_ she thought to herself.

Just then, piles of food appeared on the table, and she gasped. Hermione looked at her with amusement in her eyes. "Cool, isn't it?" she asked as she piled food onto her plate. Poor Britney didn't know where to begin.

"So," said Hermione as Britney stared down the table looking for suitable food, "What do you think so far?"

"I love it!" replied Britney weakly. As much as she was enjoying herself, she found it hard to soak it all in. "I guess it's just different from our world, huh?"

"Yeah, but you'll get used to it," said Hermione. "Guess what? Since we're in the same year, we get to sleep in the same quarters! And there's an empty bed next to mine."

"Sounds nice," said Britney as she piled roast beef and mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"Oh, one more thing," added Hermione as she watched Britney add a sweet potato and some corn too. "There's a resident ghost in the tower, okay? His name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, but you can call him Nearly Headless Nick. Don't worry, he's nice."

Britney's face went a few shades pale. "Okay," she said.

"Oh, and I'd save room for dessert if I were you," said Hermione.

Of course, about 10 minutes later, dessert appeared. Britney gaped at all the different ice creams and pastries. "I'll be exercising for weeks to get all this off," she said as she dished out chocolate chip cookie dough and mint chocolate chip ice cream into her bowl, along with a few chocolate éclairs.

Hermione chuckled lightly as she did the same. "Goodness, Brit," she said. "You'd think that they starved you.rdquo;

After another 20 minutes or so, the dessert disappeared, and Dumbledore stood up again. "Now, think of you're favorite tune. It's time for the school song." He waved his wand, and the lyrics appeared in the air above the tables, and everyone began to sing. Britney soon caught on, and she sang it to the tune of what sounded like a pirate song. (Hey, it was stuck in her head all day.) After everyone finished, the students slowly made their way to their quarters, going especially slow since all of them had probably overeaten.

Hermione and Britney arrived at the painting of the fat lady, and Hermione said the password, "Banana splits", and it swung open. She led Britney up the staircase to a room close to the top, and they walked in. Their luggage had been brought up for them, including Britney's cat.

"Hey Gracie," she whispered to her cat as she opened the cage. She was replied by a loud "meow".

"This here is your bed," said Hermione as she pointed to a four-poster.

Britney said a quick, "Thanks", and unloaded her things.

5 minutes later, she was in bed with the covers rolled up, and was writing in her diary about her wonderful day. She scribbled things down quickly. "Goodnight Gracie," she said as she sat it on the floor and turned out the book-light. "Goodnight Hermione."

"Goodnight," replied a groggy Hermione.


	2. chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next day, Britney woke up with faint sunlight pouring through the window. _'I wonder what time it is,'_ she said to herself as she got ready. She frowned as she looked over at Hermione's empty bed. She had always been a morning person, darn her. _'Why couldn't she have waken me up?'_ As soon as she had asked herself that question, the answer came. _'Because she knows I would've killed her on the spot.'_

Britney grabbed her cloak and her bag. She had agreed with Hermione to go to the library with her right after breakfast. She walked right into the Hall, and took a seat next to Hermione, who smiled at her.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," she said.

Britney stifled a big yawn, while looking up at the enchanted ceiling. Instead of the storm it showed last night, it was now pink and yellow with the colors of the new dawn. _'I think I'm gonna like it here,'_ she thought as she helped herself to some cinnamon rolls. "Do they have any coffee here?" she asked Hermione. Just then, a large mug of hot coffee appeared in front of her.

"You drink coffee?" asked Hermione as she looked over at her, and she raised her eyebrows in silent disapproval.

After a few minutes, (or 3 coffee mugs later), the two girls got up from the table. "Where're you going?" asked Ron curiously.

"We're going to the library," replied Hermione as they shuffled out the door.

Once they got there, they went over their schedules. "Let's see," said Hermione, "We have Herbology first, and then we have Transfiguration, followed by History of Magic, and then Charms. Then we have lunch. After that we have Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, and..." She groaned rather loudly, "Double Potions with the Slytherins. Well, looks like we have all the same classes," she finished with a slight smile. "We better get going to Herbology then."

The first part of the day went by rather uneventfully, other than the fact that in Charms, Hermione and Britney had been the only people to guide their pillows safely across the room into a box without any problems. They walked side-by-side as they made their way across the castle toward Divination.

"I'm warning you," said Hermione, "Professor Trelawney is a hoax. She doesn't know anything. Whatever she says about you, it's not true. Just make stuff up if she asks you."

"Okay," replied Britney as they made their way up to the trapdoor that lead to the little classroom. They sat down at a little table with Ron and Harry. Britney practically gagged with the strong scent of perfume that filled the stifling air. "Agh, can't breathe," she said in a hoarse voice as she clawed at her neck. Everyone around them who had heard laughed.

Just then, Professor Trelawney made her usual appearance through the shadows. "Hello dears," she said as she wrapped her shawl around her. "Ah, I see my new student has arrived. I've been expecting you."

"No she hasn't," whispered Hermione after she had walked to the other side of the room to examine Lavender's interpretation of her orb. Britney giggled.

"Hey Britney," said Harry in a high voice, probably mocking Professor Trelawney. "Will you tell me what's in store for my future judging by the planetary alignment?"

The group snickered. "Why, I see great danger in store for you," said Britney going along with the joke. "Yes, and Saturn is in the right spot for rebellion this week."

After a few more minutes of joking, the bell rang. The group grabbed their bags and herded out the door. "Great, double Potions," groaned Ron as they turned another corner. Once they got to the classroom, Ron and Harry paired up, and Britney sat by Hermione. Hopefully, she wouldn't get moved. Once the bell rang, Snape walked into the classroom.

"Hello class," he said in a rather menacingly cheerful tone. "I see we have a new student. Tell me," he said turning toward Britney, "what potion is ragweed most often used?"

Britney looked at him with a daring look in her eye. "A healing potion, called _remiscus,_ that heals a wound immediately upon contact."

Snape looked at her with a sour look, and his lips curled. "That's right. It looks like we have another know-it-all in the class, huh?" he asked as all the Slytherins grinned and giggled. "Five points from Gryffindor," he added as he sat down at his desk.

"What?!" Britney practically screamed. She was shut-up though when Snape turned toward her with a scowl.

"For that nasty look you gave me when you answered, and five more off for challenging me," he answered.

Hermione pulled Britney down into her seat, and it took a moment for Britney to realize that she had stood up. Her face was flushed with dark pink on her cheeks. She was furious! Her first day at Hogwarts, and she had already lost her team ten points! _'What the hell is wrong with him?! What did I do to offend him so much?!' _she screamed to herself as she put her head down on her desk so she could stop blushing.

"Today class, we will be making an engorgement potion. I will expect it done by the end of the period, as I will test it on one lucky individual," he said, flashing his menacing eyes at Harry.

Britney sighed. She already didn't like him. Out of boredom, she turned her head toward the other side of the classroom. She almost gasped as her eye caught a particularly handsome guy almost in the corner. He had blonde hair, (slicked back), and sharp gray eyes. He was the most handsome guy she had ever seen, other than her last boyfriend, who she'd broken up with a year or so ago. Something about him was so intriguing.

Draco turned around to see the new girl staring at him, who quickly turned around once he caught her eye. _'She's not that bad looking,'_ he thought as he returned to his potion. _'Agh! No Draco, she's in Gryffindor. You should be ashamed of yourself. She's probably not your type anyways.'_

Britney was brought back to earth when Hermione tapped her shoulder. "You okay?" she asked. "You don't look too good. The bell's about to ring."

"Oh, thanks," muttered Britney as she gathered her things and put it in her bag or cauldron.

"You're lucky Snape didn't notice you drifted off, luckily Neville did something wrong to his potion again," Hermione said as they walked up the steps towards Gryffindor Tower to drop off their things before heading to dinner.

"Lemon custard," said Hermione as the picture of the Fat Lady swung open.

After the girls had deposited their bags in their dormitory, they headed quickly down to the Great Hall for dinner.


	3. chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

For the next few days, Britney saw Draco in the halls and in her classes a few times a day, and with every day, the urge to ask Hermione a certain question grew to a persistent nagging, until one day, she asked her at breakfast.

"Hermione," she asked, "who is that guy in our potions class?"

"You'll have to be a bit more specific than that," she said.

"You know, that blonde guy. I think he's a Slytherin."

"Oh, no, not you, Britney! Of all the girls in this school, I thought you'd know better," Hermione chided. "That's Draco Malfoy," she said in a slightly softer voice. "His parents are supposedly Death Eaters. You know who they are, right?"

Britney nodded that she did. "Why would I know better? It's his parents that are Death Eaters, not him, right?"

Hermione gave her a look of disapproval. "He's the school's 'bad boy' if you get what I mean. Every girl in this school fawns over him."

Britney fell silent at this news. _'It's not like I have a chance anyways,'_ she thought as she got up with Hermione to go to Herbology.

In Potions that day, Britney could hardly focus on her shrinking potion. _'I bet he doesn't even know that I exist,'_ she thought as she added her cut up daisy stems.

Near the end of class, however, she caught Draco looking at her with a weird look in his eye.

_'Man, I wish I could talk to her,'_ he thought as Snape added another ten points to Slytherin. _'Wait, who am I kidding? I'm a Malfoy. I can easily talk to her whenever I want to. In fact, I'll do that right after class.'_

Draco spent the rest of the class thinking over what he would say to Britney once class was over. What would she think? Little did he know that she felt the same way about him.

The class stampeded out of the classroom once the bell rang, although Snape somehow managed to still give them an essay for Monday.

Draco made his way steadily toward Britney through the dense crowd. As soon as he was close enough, he lightly tapped her arm. "Um," he stumbled as she turned around to look at him with her hazel eyes, as a deep blush spread on both of their faces, "can I talk to you for a second?"

Britney looked at him with a surprised, and somewhat flattered, look on her face. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you at dinner Hermione," she said as Draco pulled her around a corner for some privacy.

Draco found himself at a loss of words when they were standing alone with no one around. _'Not now, you idiot,' _he thought, trying to remember the words he had practiced to say to her in class. But the words never came, and Britney's face became an even darker shade of pink as she waited patiently while he thought of somewhere to start.

"Um," he said, still trying to find something to say. "I... I want you to know that..." Britney looked at him very eagerly now, "that... I think you're very pretty."

"Oh," she said meekly. "I think you're handsome," she added a moment later, blushing to a deep pink, almost red now. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

Draco blushed a little, and then nodded his head. What was he supposed to say? That he might be in love with her? _'God, you're so stupid... stupid, stupid," _he thought as Britney began to slowly walk away to meet Hermione at the Great Hall. _'Should I have said something else?'_ he thought as he made his way toward the Slytherin common room to drop off his books.

Britney was still blushing deeply as she entered the Hall. She noticed that several people were now looking at her as if she was an alien. Hermione raised her eyebrows as Britney sat down next to her.

"What?" Britney said, beginning to dish some carrots onto her plate.

"Don't give me that innocent tone," Hermione replied. "Draco Malfoy just pulled you aside after class, and you're asking ME what? I don't think so. I want details. Now."

Britney looked around the Hall, as if searching for spies. "I'll tell you later," she whispered. Hermione still looked at her rather skeptically, as she stuffed some lamb chops into her mouth.

Hermione and Britney made their way up to the Tower silently. "Lollipop swirl," said Britney, and the picture swung open.

Ron, Harry, Ginny, George, and Fred were the only ones in the common room, which was odd. Hermione looked at Britney, and asked, "Do you want to tell Ginny too?"

Britney shook her head in disapproval as the girls made their way to their dormitory. Hermione sat down on her bed and patted a spot next to her, signaling Britney to have a seat. Britney let out a long sigh before she began.

"All he said was... he thought that I'm pretty," she said simply. Hermione gave her a skeptical look. "No, really. That was it."

Hermione took this in for a minute. "That's it? What did you say? I know you said something."

"Yeah, I said I thought he was handsome, and then we just stood there. It was pretty awkward."

"Do you know what will happen if any other girl found out about this? They'd send you hate notes like it's going out of style. He practically has a fan club. We'd better be careful. If anyone found out, you'd be killed. You realize that, right?"

Britney yawned sleepily as she said, "Yeah, sure. I'm going to bed, okay?"

"Okay," said Hermione, pulled back her sheets and taking off her cloak.

Britney fell instantly asleep as she fell onto her bed. That night, she dreamed that Draco had confessed he had a crush on her, and she woke up the next morning, smiling.


	4. chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next day was a Saturday, so Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Britney made their way towards Hagrid first thing after breakfast. They found him around back, tending to his pumpkins.

"Ah, there ya are," he said turning around to greet them. "I was beginnin' to wonder if ya knew I was still 'ere. Come on in, I made some treacle fudge just this mornin'," he said, rounding the group into his tiny shack.

Once the group had settled in around the fire, Hagrid gave them some news. "Guess who came down ter see me yester' eve? Mr. Lucius Malfoy, that's who. He came over ter say that the Ministry was keepin' a close eye on me, and I better watch my steps."

The group was only slightly awed, however, they were very upset. Hermione leaned over and whispered, "That's Draco's dad, in case you were wondering."

Britney's jaw dropped open slightly. "Really? Why would he do something like that?"

Hermione didn't answer, but raised her eyebrows as if to say 'that's how Malfoys are'.

"Them Malfoys are no good. I'm tellin' ya, one of these days, they'll get what's comin' to 'em."

Britney's face was pink the rest of the morning, trying to ignore the constant 'Malfoy bashing'. The group left Hagrid's shack just in time for lunch. Once at the Hall, they all sat down eagerly, ready for some real food. Once all the students were seated, the food appeared, along with hundreds of owls for the owl post. Much to Britney's delight, a letter dropped in front of her. Hermione leaned over her shoulder, because Britney hadn't received a letter yet this year.

"Who's it from?" she asked, stuffing some food into her mouth.

"I don't know," Britney said, opening the envelope and unfolding the parchment. Britney nearly gasped. It was from Draco.

_Britney,_

_I know we just met, and I'm sorry, but I didn't say what I meant to the other day. Would you please meet me at the Astronomy Tower tonight at 10? See if Potter will lend you his invisibility cloak. I know he has one. Don't be late._

_Draco_

Hermione nearly spit out her pumpkin juice now, and Britney's face was now a bright pink, and she had one of her hands covering her mouth. She turned to look at Hermione, with a very surprised look. "Now way!" she whispered meekly.

Hermione just smiled at her. "I can see all those hate notes now," she said.

Britney gasped again. "No, don't you say that."

That night, Britney sneaked out of Gryffindor Tower without coming across anyone in the halls. Harry had lent her his cloak, along with the Marauders Map, but not without several minutes of heavy questioning. Finally, Hermione intervened, and forced him to give the items to Britney.

Now, she made her way silently up the stairs to the chamber at the top, hardly making a sound. When she arrived, she saw that Draco had already arrived. _'Great, and he said not to be late,'_ she thought, drifting over to the window to join Draco, and taking off the invisibility cloak.

"Hi," she whispered meekly. "Sorry I was late, it took Harry a minute to give me the cloak."

Draco just smiled at her. "That's okay," he said. There were a few minutes of uneasy silence.

"So, you wanted to talk to me?" asked Britney rather hesitantly.

"Uh... yeah. Well... um..." he stuttered, trying to find somewhere to begin, and then sighed. "There's just... something about you. I... uh," Britney was now looking very eager. "I'd like to get to know you better. Yeah, that's what I meant to say..."

Britney and Draco were now both blushing furiously now. "Oh, okay," said Britney shyly. They stood there for a few more minutes, not knowing what to say. "Uh, I think we should probably go," she said, putting Harry's cloak back on.

"Yeah, we don't want to get caught," said Draco almost breathlessly.

They said a quick good-bye, and then went their separate ways. When Britney got back to the common room, hardly anyone was still there. She crept silently up to her dormitory, and took off the cloak. She got ready for bed, and laid down on her bed. About a million thoughts ran through her mind. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.


	5. chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Britney awoke early the next morning, with many questions still running through her head. She eventually fumbled out of bed, and shuffled down to breakfast. Waiting for her were Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

"Hey guys," she said taking a seat next to Ginny. "Where's Hermione?"

"In the library," they all chorused.

"She said something about researching for a project in Transfiguration," added Ginny.

"Which isn't due for 2 weeks," said Ron.

Harry sighed, "Sometimes I wonder about her. She's gonna overwork herself-"

Just then, he was interrupted by the sound of the daily owl post. Everyone stared as an owl dropped a letter right into Britney's plate. They all paused from eating to see whom it was from, but Britney grabbed it almost immediately, and defensively hugged it close so that no one could see any writing.

Harry asked, "Who would write to you that you have to be so defensive?"

Ginny smiled, "I think I know." Britney gaped at her. _'I thought Hermione promised to keep it a secret!'_ she thought, but when Harry and Ron looked at Ginny eagerly, she quickly added, "I could be really wrong though."

Harry and Ron both exchanged apprehensive glances, and went back to eating.

Britney opened her letter as fast as her fingers would allow her to. Sure enough, it was from Draco.

_'Hey Britney. Glad to see you're up. I was wondering if that sidetracked Granger would take the time to wake you. Will you please meet me on the Quidditch field after practice? I should be done by 8:00. Please write back immediately. Thanks, Draco'_

Britney blushed a little and glanced over at the Slytherin table, where Draco was stealing her sly looks when Crabbe and Goyle weren't paying attention. "Can I borrow your quill Harry?" she asked, turning back to her own table. Harry gave her a look as if he might ask her whom she was writing to, but he must have decided against it, because he gave it to her and went on eating.

Britney bit her bottom lip, trying to think of what to write back.

_'Good morning, Draco. I hope you slept well. Sure, I'll meet you on the Quidditch field. Will all the players be gone by then? (I wouldn't want rumors flying around the school.) 8:00 is fine with me, see you then. Britney_

_P.S. I'd love it if you wouldn't insult my friends.'_

With her response written, she sent the owl over to Draco, handed Harry his quill, and went back to eating.

Britney couldn't wait for her classes to end so she could meet with Draco. Consequently, her classes went by so slowly, she would've thought that time had stopped altogether. Eventually though, she was dismissed from Potions, and she ran down to dinner. She got down there so early that it took all of her patience to wait 5 minutes for the food to appear. As soon as it did though, she dished it onto her plate and began to eat as if it would disappear as quickly as it came.

Once she was done, she glanced at her watch. _'Crap, I still have 2 hours to kill,'_ she thought. So, she decided to go to the library to do her homework while she waited. As she got up though, Hermione pulled her back down. "Where are you going?" she asked.

Britney leaned over and whispered, "I have to meet You-Know-Who later, and I have homework to do."

Hermione smiled. "Good luck," she said as Britney got up for the second time. Harry and Ron looked up from behind their mounds of mashed potatoes, and gave Hermione a puzzled look. Hermione shook her head, refusing to tell what was going on, and they proceeded eating, heavily disappointed.

Meanwhile, in the library, Britney shuffled uneasily. She had finished her homework 10 minutes ago, and she was getting restless. She glanced at her watch, which read '7:50'. She looked out the closest window onto the Quidditch field. Practice had been adjourned a few minutes earlier, and players were leaving the field and hitting the locker rooms.

Britney grabbed her books, stuffed them into her backpack, and after dropping it off at her dormitory, headed down to the Quidditch field. Sure enough, Draco was already there. Britney smiled to herself. _'He's always so punctual,' _she thought admiringly.

"Hey there," said Draco slyly. "Are you ready?" He lightly grabbed Britney's elbow and gently pulled her off the field toward the line of trees. When Britney gave him a skeptical look, he added, smiling, "Trust me. I just want to show you a favorite spot of mine." He led her to a big weeping willow tree on the edge of the forest, and motioned for her to duck under the branches and follow him. They sat down, their backs against the trunk of the giant tree.

After a few moments silence, Britney said, "This is some place you got here." Draco just grinned and nodded.

"So, tell me about yourself," he said.

Britney hesitated, perhaps for too long. "You don't want to know about me. What about you?" Draco gave her a puzzled look. "Go ahead, I'm listening," she added.

Draco sighed. "Well, there's not much that you'd want to hear, but if you insist." Britney nodded her head that she did. "Ok," he continued, taking a deep breath. "As you've probably already heard, my dad is a Death Eater, and, well, we don't exactly agree. See, when I turn eighteen, he plans for me to get the Mark, so I'll be just like him, but... I don't want to be. I've promised myself never to follow in his footsteps." Then he looked deep into Britney's eyes, and gave her a faint smile. "But I guess no one here would agree with that."

"I do," she said.

"So, what about you? What're you all about?" he asked, looking deep into her eyes.

Britney bit her lip, and after a minute, looked as if she were about to cry, trying to choke back tears. Draco grabbed one of her hands in his. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to..." he said.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that I don't think I'm ready to tell anyone yet," she replied, giving him a faint smile. "But when I'm ready, you'll be the first to know."

They stared into each other's eyes for a second, and then Draco leaned forward and kissed her. Draco heard her gasp in surprise, and he pulled her close, placing one hand on the small of her back, the other free to roam through her thick waves of hair.

Eventually, though rather reluctantly, Britney pulled away. "We better get back to the castle, we don't want to be caught out late in the halls, now do we?" she explained. Draco nodded that he understood. (Not that it would really effect him, because Snape wouldn't say anything if he was caught.)

So, hand-in-hand, they returned to the castle.


	6. chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

For the next few weeks, Britney and Draco met in secret and passed notes in their classes. As the Christmas Break drew nearer though, Harry and Ron became more and more suspicious, until one day, they couldn't take the secrets any longer, and Britney walked in to find them waiting for her in the common room after dinner.

"Hey guys," she said, nervously sitting down next to Harry.

Ron just stared at her, but Harry replied, "We want to know what is going on, Britney. We know that you, Ginny, and Hermione are up to something."

Britney glanced at them uneasily, and then sighed. "Do you guys promise not to slaughter me?" she asked them. Harry and Ron looked at each other, and then nodded their consent. Britney took a deep breath, and leaned forward so that no one else in the common room would hear her. "I... I've been meeting Draco... in private."

Harry and Ron gasped so loud that everyone in the common room turned around to look at them. Ron looked at Britney perplexedly, and asked, "Why would you want to do that?"

Britney flushed a deep purple. "I... I, uh..."

Ron and Harry said simultaneously, "Oh my God!"

Once they had both recovered, and Britney had returned to her normal color, Harry said, "How did this happen?"

Britney just raised her eyebrows as if to say, "I have no idea." Lucky for her, Hermione walked up just then and dragged her off to the library, trying to save her from further interrogation.

"What just happened back there?" Hermione asked.

"I told Harry about Draco and me," she replied, trying to choke back tears. "You... you don't think... they'll be mad at me?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure Brit, but I'm sure that they might not be mad for long."

Britney regained her posture. "I hope you're right."

The next day, Britney went to breakfast as usual to find two very silent Ron and Harry. "Morning guys," she said, trying to lighten the heavy mood, but Harry and Ron just kept on eating as if they didn't know that she was there. Britney sighed. _'I knew this was going to happen,' she thought. 'Just when we were beginning to get close, you have to go and screw it up. Great Brit, just great.'_

Later that day, she wrote a note to Draco in Potions.

_'Draco, _

_I'm so sorry, but Harry and Ron, they know about us now. I didn't have a choice; they knew that I was up to something. Now they won't talk to me. What did you do to make them hate you so much? Britney_

_P.S. Are you going home for the holidays or are you staying here? I could really use some company, seeing as how they probably won't pay much attention to me now.'_

Britney folded the note two times and gave it to Draco when no one was looking because Neville had spilt his potion all over the floor again. She didn't have to wait long, because Draco was a fast writer, and it only took him a second to write back. It read:

_'I guess it was doomed to happen anyways, right? I didn't do anything! On the train to school in our first year, he refused to be friends with me and decided to hang around Weasley and Granger instead. We've been enemies ever since. It was his choice, not mine. I suppose I'll stay here. I'd rather be here with you than home with my father any day. Meet me today after dinner at our spot. Draco' _

Britney folded the parchment back up and put it into her pocket. _'Tsk, tsk,'_ she thought as Snape dismissed them from class. She gathered her books and put them in her pack or her cauldron, and left the classroom. She could've sworn that as she turned into the hallway Pansy Parkinson had given her a weird look. _'What's up with her?'_ she thought to herself, making her way to the Great Hall.

She'd soon know the answer....

As soon as dinner was over, Britney made her way across the grounds to the place Draco and her always met; the tree he had taken her to the first time they met in secret. She sat down against the trunk to wait for Draco to arrive.

"Why are you late?" she asked curiously when he arrived. "It's not like you."

"Pansy kept nagging me when I tried to leave," he explained. "Guess she doesn't know to call to it quits, huh?"

Britney smiled in response. She didn't Pansy either.

Draco took a seat next to her. "So," he began, getting comfortable. "Why won't Harry and Ron talk to you? Do they really hate me that much that they'd stop talking to a friend?"

Britney shook her head. "I don't know. We aren't exactly best buds. We just met a few months ago. We haven't really had much time to get to know one another yet. I didn't think that they'd take it so hard. I thought that they might understand."

Draco gave her a quick hug. "Well, I hope that they forgive you. I'm tired of seeing you frown all the time. Lighten-up, Brit. It's not the end of the world. They'll forgive you, and you'll be friends again, I know it. They're not that mean."

Just then, they heard a clicking noise. Draco sat up immediately. "What is that?" he asked. It stopped almost instantaneously. Then, Britney thought that she heard footsteps, going toward the castle. Draco got up and pushed aside the weeping willows hanging branches, and silently cursed. Britney got up to examine what he was so upset about, and then she saw. It was Pansy Parkinson, making her way back to the castle, practically fleeing for her life; camera in hand.


	7. chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Britney and Draco ran after Pansy, not stopping until they reached the castle's threshold. Upon entering the entrance hall, however, Professor Snape was waiting for them, with a menacing smile on his face.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy, and Miss Handley," he said, turning to look at them. "Miss Parkinson has already told me that she saw you two wandering across the grounds after dark. Can either of you explain yourselves?"

When neither of them could give a legitimate excuse, his smile became broader, and his eyes, for once, twinkled with an evil excitement. "Who would have thought that one of the best Gryffindors would be caught outside, after dark, with a Slytherin, who happens to be her friend's worst enemy? My, what have these students come to?" he asked himself. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, Miss Handley, and both of you will receive detention. Now I don't want to hear about students wandering the halls ever again. Is that clear?" Both students nodded. "Good, now go to your common rooms where you're supposed to be," he said silkily.

When they reached the dungeons of the Slytherin dormitory, Draco and Britney said goodnight. "'Night Draco," Britney said, who was fighting the urge to give him a hug, but knew she couldn't in case Filch was lurking around.

"I'll try to talk to Pansy about this. If she gets those pictures developed, there's no telling what she'll do. She might tell the whole school just to give her a good name." Britney nodded. "Well, good night then, Britney," he said, turning to say the password.

Britney stalked off, and heard Draco mutter something under his breath. As quiet as she could, she made her way to Gryffindor Tower. Once she got there, she eagerly pulled back the sheets and hopped into bed. She was too tired to notice that she needed to change into her pajamas, or that her cat was picking at her foot. She just went to sleep.

The next morning, when Britney arrived at the Great Hall, she instantly spotted Pansy Parkinson talking to Draco. She walked right past them, not wanting for others to notice anything, so she sat down next to Hermione. She was pretty good at reading lips, so she discreetly looked over at Pansy, trying to catch something. She could tell by the look on Draco's face that she was upsetting him, probably even threatening. She couldn't pick up anything, except for the words, "I just might tell the whole school." When Pansy and Draco were finished with the conversation, she turned her head back around, and found the Weasley twins looking at her square in the face.

"What?" she asked defensively.

The twins both smiled. "Why were you trying to listen in on their conversation?" asked Fred.

"I thought I might hear something important," she explained, not technically lying.

George grinned and nodded. "Yeah, you'd think that they were going out or something." Everyone at the table laughed at this comment, except for Britney, Hermione, and Ginny, who only grinned half-heartedly, although no one else noticed it.

Britney stood up and said, "Excuse me." As she made her way to the doors, she glanced out of the corner of her eye, and saw Pansy hanging all over Draco, in a style that much reminded Britney of a drunkard. _'God! Could she be more repulsive?!' _she thought. Just then, Pansy pulled Draco by his tie and kissed him on the cheek. _'Guess not,' _she scoffed. _Draco better have a good excuse.'_

Draco and Britney met later that night under the willow tree. "Why did you let Pansy hang all over you?" Britney asked, sitting down.

"Pansy got the pictures developed. She... she's threatened to dispense them to the whole school, unless I act like I'm her boyfriend," he replied. "Sorry Brit, but it's the only way."

Britney was close to tears now. "That slut! She thinks she can just come and ruin everything. How dare she?"

Draco hugged her while she cried on his shoulder. "It's okay. Christmas break is coming up soon," he said, trying to comfort her. "I'm sure she'll probably leave, or else we can think of something to lure her away."

Britney whispered," I hope it works."

The next days went pretty good for Britney, minus Pansy feeling up Draco, which gave her a temper a bit of a booster shot. She had snapped at Harry, and even Hermione, and Fred and George said it must be "that time of the month," which she repeatedly denied. Everything went fine until Friday, when she found Pansy kissing Draco just before Potions class out in the halls.

She just kept on walking, right on to her seat, and tried to act as if nothing was wrong, although it became quite evident by the end of class. She had started shaking by the time she had to crush snake fangs, which consequently resulted in a fine powder. Her porcupine needles, needless to say, ended up the same way, although Snape warned them only to snap them into a few pieces.

Britney's potion ended up a bright purple color, which was supposed to be a scarlet red color like the rest of the class. Snape came by, looking into everyone's cauldrons, nitpicking and criticizing even the best ones. When he arrived at Neville's desk, she heard Snape say quietly, "Helping Longbottom again, are we Granger? Five points from Gryffindor!" at which Neville whimpered.

_'Oh, my goodness, even Neville did better than I did! He's going to squash me like a bug!' _she thought, just as Snape peered over her shoulder.

He gave a wicked smile, and then moved in front of her cauldron. _'Oh crap. He's not gonna do what I think he's gonna do...' _she thought. He ladled some up, and then said, "Handley, I want you to try this. If you made it correctly, you will answer any question we ask truthfully."

Unfortunately, the whole class had pulled around to see. Snape passes the ladle to Britney, who reluctantly grabbed it and scooped up some potion. She looked around at all of her classmates who were leaning forward to make sure they got a good view, then gulped some down.

It tasted bitter at first, with a chilling cold, but then she tasted it no more, and her eyes became hazy. Almost instantly, questions started running through her mind at top speeds, and then stopped. Then, questions came slowly, one-by-one, allowing her time to answer.

"Why did you move here to England?" one asked.

"My parents died in a car crash last summer," she answered groggily. "I came here and moved I with my grandmother."

The whole class had now gone silent. Then, someone asked, "Why were you put in Gryffindor?"

Britney shrugged. "The Sorting Hat just put me there."

Encouraged by the strength of the potion, the class again began to hurdle questions at her. "Quiet! Now, one question at a time," commanded Snape.

"What's your favorite color?" asked Lavender. The whole class groaned in dismay, while many shouted insults at her for wasting the length of the potion on such a silly question.

"Lavender," Britney answered.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" one Slytherin in the back shouted.

Britney nodded. "Yes, Draco Malfoy."

Right about then you could've heard a pin fall on the floor, minus the gust of gasps heard just before. Draco turned to his fellow Slytherins who were staring at him. "You can't believe that's true?" he drawled, a slight twinge of pink on his cheeks. They started whispering, but Snape silenced them.

"I don't believe Handley would tell a lie, given her current condition." He shook his head in silent disapproval. "Although I'm quite surprised that her potion even worked. The only way it could've would be if she just over crushed her ingredients. I believe it is almost time to switch classes. Gather your things."


	8. chapter 8

**Chapter #8**

After Britney dropped off her books, she went straight to dinner. As soon as she walked through the doors, all the talking in the Great Hall ceased. She just kept on walking.

As she sat down, the talking started up again, especially at the Slytherin table. _'Hm, why isn't Draco here?' _she thought, dishing peas onto her plate.

Just then, Hermione came in and sat down beside her. "Hey Britney," she said, straightening her robes.

"Hey, do you know where You-Know-Who is?" Britney asked.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione gave her very skeptical looks. "You don't have to act like that," Ron said. "The whole school knows now."

Britney looked positively puzzled. "But... how?"

Hermione shook her head. "You probably what everyone asked you when you drank the potion, do you?" Britney shook her head. "Well, someone asked you if you had a boyfriend, and you said 'Draco'."

Ron grinned. "The whole school practically knows by now. He was absolutely livid! You should've seen his face! He told them it wasn't true, but no one believed him. No one's seen him since."

Harry nodded. "He's probably writing to his father right now, ranting about injustice."

_'Oh no!' _Britney thought. _'I've got to find him!' _The Slytherins snickered as she ran by, running as fast as her short legs would allow. She bumped into Snape on her way through the doors. He smirked at her, but she started running again, not wanting him to deduct points form Gryffindor. She ran all the way across the grounds. She knew where she was going; knew where to find him. The willow tree. Not until its low branches swatted her face did she stop. Sure enough, Draco was there, looking as though he might cry.

Britney sank down beside him. She knew how precious his reputation was to him. "Oh, Draco. I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Draco shook his head. "It's not your fault." He looked up, through the branches and out to the stars, staring off into space. "He'll find out."

"Who will?" she asked.

"My father. He'll find out, some way or another. God, he's gonna kill me."

She felt like saying, "I'm sure he'll understand", but she knew that it wasn't true, and no matter how good a liar she was, he'd never believe her. Instead, she looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Are you going to be okay?"

He eventually nodded his head.

"Are you sure Draco?"

He nodded again, standing up this time, signaling that he was ready to go. Britney hugged him, just trying to make him feel better.

"All for the better I guess," he said. "I was getting tired of hiding it."

Britney smiled. "Yeah, me too."

The next morning at breakfast, Britney arrived at the entrance hall to find a terrible scene: students were screaming and running around while pictures floated everywhere in the air above.

_'That's not way to act just because it's the day before Christmas break,' _she thought. As she stepped on a picture, she picked it up.

A giggling group of second-year girls came up to her. "Wow, you're so lucky," said one of them. The group looked at Britney funny. Her face was ashen white, and her eyes sparkled with rage.

"Pansy," she whispered, crumpling the picture in her hand. She threw it on the floor and stalked off, leaving the group behind to gape at her. The picture on the floor was one of Draco kissing her.


	9. chapter 9

**Chapter #9**

Britney walked into the Great Hall, looking every which way for Pansy, while walking over to sit by Harry. "Where's Hermione?" she asked him, pouring some coffee.

"Library. Where else?" he answered.

Britney nodded as Ron asked, "How can you drink that stuff?"

She shrugged. "It just tastes good," she replied, adding lots of sugar and cream (and noticing the disgusted look on Ron's face). As she lifted her mug to take a swig, she spotted Pansy. _'That slut is passing out pictures to make sure everyone here sees!'_ she thought, choking on her coffee.

"Are you okay, Brit?" Harry and Ron asked in unison.

Britney nodded. "Yeah, just trying to drink it too fast," she replied, then smiled. _'I've got an evil idea...' _she thought to herself, grabbing the closest thing to her, which was a big bowl of biscuit gravy.

She called, "Hey, Pansy!" and signaled for her to come over. Pansy strutted over, looking absolutely triumphant about her exposing Draco and Britney's picture all over the school.

Pansy smirked. "Yes, Britney?" she asked, holding the large pile of pictures to her hips.

"You know what I think would go just great with your hair color?" Britney taunted.

"No. What is it?" Pansy inquired, batting her eyes and trying to sound sweet and innocent.

"Gravy!" Britney yelled. Before Pansy could even calculate what she had said, she had biscuit gravy in her hair and all over her face, dripping down her robes.

"Ugh!" she managed to squeal, before running out of the Hall to clean it off.

The Gryffindor table exploded with laughter and cheers, but the Slytherins were boiling mad, and before anyone knew what hit them, biscuits, eggs, and every other breakfast food was flying through the air in all directions.

By the time anyone and everyone had some kind of food on them, Professor Snape walked in, followed by Pansy.

"There! There she is! She's the one who threw gravy in my hair!" Pansy shouted, pointing to Britney and then dramatically holding her face in her hands. Britney noticed that her hair was still caked in gravy, and started giggling.

"May I ask what is so funny?" Snape hissed at her. He smirked, and looked around the Hall at the food strewn everywhere. "I suppose you are also responsible for starting the food fight as well, no doubt?" he asked Britney.

Britney didn't answer.

"Handley?!" he barked.

Britney slowly nodded, and grimaced at the thought of the evil punishment he'd probably come up with, but looking at Pansy, she knew it was definitely worth it.

"Follow me," Snape said, turning and walking out. Pansy turned to follow, but he said, "Stay here." Pansy frowned and sulked off to the Slytherin table.

As they were walking out, they passed Draco. Britney noted that her was holding one of the pictures in his fist, and he flashed her a slight grin. Out in the entrance hall, it looked like a battlefield. Pictures were layered so thickly on the floor that it looked like the floor was covered in newspapers.

She followed Snape all the way to the dungeons, and down to his office. "Have a seat," he said, pointing toward a musty armchair in front of a large desk.

She defiantly sat down, thinking about all the damage that all that dust would do to her freshly cleaned robes, not that vanity really mattered to her. _'Surely he's had more frequent visitors with all the people he tries to expel?" _she thought.

"Miss Handley," Snape said, leaning forward on the desk and smiling menacingly. "I regret to inform you that PMS does not account for your rude behavior.

Britney sneered. _'He thinks that was PMS? Man is he unsocial!'_

"If you were one of my students, I would expel you," he said, his lips now curling in disgust. "However, I'm afraid Professor McGonagall will have to determine your punishment."

As if on cue, Professor McGonagall waltzed into the room, looking slightly amused about the situation. Behind her came a rather flustered looking Pansy. "Snape, I'll take Handley with me," McGonagall said. Britney gratefully stood up and began to dust off her cloak. "Miss Parkinson was responsible for the photographs littered all over the entrance hall. I suggest that since you are her head teacher that you punish her accordingly," she added.

Britney could've jumped for joy. _'Yes! Good ole McGonagall saves the day again!'_ she thought, trying hard not to smile at Pansy's demise.

"Come with me, Handley," McGonagall ordered.

Britney had to skip to keep up with her. _'Gosh she walks fast,'_ she noted to herself, having finally caught up and matched her stride.

"Miss Handley, I will be deducting twenty points from Gyffindor. I would normally give you detention, but I think cleaning the Great Hall without magic should suffice," she said.

Britney groaned. _'As if I don't get enough of this at home.'_

"And you'll need to do it during your first class, which has already started," she added. "If it takes you longer than that, you will not be excused from the overlapping classes. Is that clear?"

Britney nodded. So, that gave her about an hour or so to get it done. _'Great, just great,'_ she thought, now reaching the entrance hall.

"I leave you here," McGonagall said. Britney nodded. "And good luck."

Britney spent the next hour cleaning the whole Great Hall. Luckily, the plates and silverware cleaned themselves and magically set themselves back on the table. At least she didn't have to do dishes. After about the first fifteen minutes, the tables, windows, and benches were clean.

Britney sighed. _'Now for the hard part,'_ she thought, grabbing the broom that Filch had given her earlier off of the closest wall.

Just then, the door opened, and Pansy peeked in, holding, once again, a huge pile of pictures in front of her. She grinned. "Still working, I see?" she asked.

Britney grunted.

"See you in class," she said malevolently, bouncing off and slamming the door unintentionally.

Britney smirked. _'This could be fun,'_ she thought, going back to sweeping.


	10. chapter 10

**Chapter #10**

After Britney finished cleaning the Great Hall, she hurried down to Herbology, her second class for the day. She was rather upset that she had to miss Charms, her favorite subject, but maybe she shouldn't have thrown that gravy at Pansy? _'No,'_ she thought. _'It was worth it.'_

As she walked in, she noticed earmuffs lying on the table. _'Mandrakes? Didn't Hermione say they had already did these?'_ she thought to herself, grabbing a purple pair nearby.

After everyone filed in, Professor Sprout appeared and tapped her wand on the table. "Now class, can I have your attention please? The Ministry of Magic has asked me to grow some Mandrakes. As you have all done this before, I think they will be quite satisfied with their health. However, right now, they just need repotting. Go ahead now, earmuffs on! I'll be right back," she said, waddling out of the room.

Everyone put on their earmuffs, and Neville held his hands to his ears to be sure they were on all the way. Pansy pulled her Mandrake up first. "Hey, look!" she said, catching everyone's attention. "It's Britney 'pms'ing!" Some of the Slytherin girls giggled, but all the guys and the Gryffindor girls frowned with disapproval.

Britney smirked. _'I was going to be nice... but now she's asked for it!'_ She pulled up her Mandrake. "This is Pansy all the time," she said, then squeezing the Mandrake's head. "And this is Pansy 'pms'ing." The Mandrake squealed as loud as it could, and Neville passed out on the floor next to her. Everyone laughed, except for Pansy. Even the Slytherin girls giggled, that is, until Pansy nudged them to stop. Draco laughed so hard that he had to sit down.

Later, in DADA, Britney and Pansy were at it again. Britney raised her hand. "Professor Moody?" she asked.

"Yes, Handley?" he replied.

"How can you tell that a person is a Death Eater? I mean, this is Aefense against the Dark Arts," she said, winking to Draco.

Professor Moody chuckled softly. "Yes, you're right. Well, I really shouldn't be teaching you about such things, but I suppose your question was simple enough. A Death Eater always has the Dark Mark branded on them; usually somewhere on the arm. Why do you ask?"

Britney shrugged her shoulders casually. "Oh, no reason in particular. Just curious, I suppose," she said, glaring at Pansy, who looked very upset.

At lunch, Britney completely ignored Pansy, who was loudly talking about her over at the Slytherin table. She sat in between Ron and Hermione, and just ate her lunch.

"You've been awfully mean to Pansy all morning Brit," Hermione stated.

Britney swallowed her food and said, "She started it."

Hermione scoffed. "Well, that's terribly juvenile."

Britney nodded. "Yeah, well, she deserves it anyways."

Harry and Ron nodded in agreement. Harry commented, "It's about time she got what's coming to her."

Ron added, "What goes around, comes around."

Hermione frowned. "You can be so mean sometimes," she said, getting up and leaving.

Under his breath, Ron said, "As if she's never been mean."

Britney, Harry, and Ron left for Divination right after lunch. When they arrived, Professor Trelawney said, "Since today is the day before Christmas Break, I've decided to let you do crystal balls today. Only for today, mind you."

Britney sighed as she grabbed a crystal ball from the nearest shelf. They had been doing the influence of the constellations for months now, and she was glad for the break.

She sat down next to Harry, and pretended to act professional. "Ah, yes, I think I'm getting something," she mimicked. Harry and Ron snickered. She looked a few tables over to her left, where Pansy sat. Pansy quickly looked away, and it gave her an idea. "I see... me and Draco, together, at the Yule Ball," she said rather loudly. Pansy glanced, but then turned the other direction as if she didn't hear her.

_'Good. At least I have her attention,'_ Britney thought, as Professor Trelawney stalked over to her.

"My, I believe we have a gifted one," she said, pulling her shawl around her.

Behind her, Pansy said, "I see... a body... it's bruised... like it was beaten... it's being carried out of the castle!" She gasped. "It's... it's Britney!"

Britney said dramatically, "What? Let me see..." She leaned over and pretended to see the scene in Pansy's crystal ball, and gasped. "That's you Pansy! I swear, she looks just like you!"

The whole room gathered around. Lavendar looked and said in a wobbly voice, "She's right. It does look just like you Pansy!"

Professor Trelawney moved next to Britney and gazed into the ball. "Yes, my dear, I 'm afraid it's true."

Pansy whined, "But I saw it! It was Britney!"

Professor Trelawney shook her head. "I'm afraid not, dear. She does have a stronger aura than you. She's obviously right."

Luckily, for them, Pansy was not in their next class, Transfiguration. It was one of the easiest classes they'd had all year: turning flobberworms into quills. In fact, it was so easy, that everyone, even Neville, finished with plenty of extra time to talk and relax. That is, until they had to go to Potions, their next class...


	11. chapter 11

**Chapter #11**

The group slowly made their way to Potions, Hermione and Ron debating over the house-elfs again. As they entered the classroom, they got a strong waft of something foul in the air, but it was gone as soon as it came. Once they took their seats, they noticed Snape was standing in the back of the classroom stirring something in a cauldron.

"Today, we will be making the 'Draught of Living Death'. You should already know the ingredients, so you'll be working without my directions," he instructed once everyone had arrived. "At the end of the class, we will be testing the potion on one lucky individual. I have already prepared a small sample of the antidote. Now get to work." Having given full instructions, he stalked off to his desk.

The class immediately began talking. "I wonder who Snape is going to murder this time," Harry remarked.

"I hope its Pansy," Britney sneered.

Ron laughed slightly. "Fat chance," he said.

"Yeah, I know," she replied wistfully. "But one can always dream, right? Although, when concerning Snape, I suppose it's more like nightmare." The group snickered. "So, it's asphodel and wormwood that we need, right Hermione?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, but don't put too much asphodel in it, or else it might fizz."

"Ok, thanks," Britney said, leaning over to check her supplies. "Oh, gee, I'm out of wormwood."

"Well I could..." Hermione started.

"No, that's ok. I'll just borrow some from Draco," Britney finished, already standing to leave the table, and checking to see if Snape was looking. She carefully walked over to his table, acting graceful. A few Slytherins giggled. She stood in front of Draco, playing with a lock of her hair. "Hey, Draco? Could I borrow some wormwood?" she asked, trying to be seductive.

Draco smirked, catching onto her plan. He leaned over closer to her, and grabbed some wormwood, placing it on her free hand, all without breaking his gaze with her's. "Enjoy," he said, easing back into his chair.

Next to him, Pansy was so furious, she dropped a string of snake fangs on the ground. Britney gracefully stepped over them, returning to her seat. "Clumsy, are we?" she asked Pansy from over her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Pansy was snarling with a viscous ferocity. _'Down Pansy, down,'_ she thought, smiling to herself, Pansy baffled her sometimes; she was always so over possessive.

Sitting back down, she looked at Draco, who was stifling a laugh. Once she was finished with her potion, she heard a quiet explosion behind her. She turned around to see Seamus and Neville covered in red slime. Britney giggled. "What'd you do this time Neville?" she asked.

"It wasn't me! I swear! Seamus told me to add some essence of tigerlily," he said, pointing his finger to the guilty boy next to him.

Britney laughed again. "What else did you put in it?"

Neville turned a bright shade of pink in the face. "Some porcupine quills, and armadillo powder."

Britney glanced around to see where Snape was; he was on the other side of the dungeon. "Alright, all you need is asphodel and wormwood. Ok? And don't add too much asphodel."

Neville nodded nervously. He put the wormwood in just fine, but when he grabbed for the asphodel, he froze like a deer in headlights.

Britney turned to see what froze him; it was Professor Snape, heading right toward their table. She turned toward Seamus (acknowledging Neville's paralysis,) and hissed, "Quick! Seamus, do something!" But Seamus too was paralyzed with fear. She grabbed the asphodel and threw it into their cauldron just at the last second.

Snape towered over her, and she shrank back to her seat. "Asking Handley for help, Longbottom? At least it's not Granger," he spit menacingly.

Neville whimpered and cowered in response.

"Weasley! Since your parents can't afford to give you something for Christmas, how about a present? Get over here and try Longbottom's potion," Snape ordered.

Two tables up, Ron's ears turned the same color as his hair. He slowly swiveled around, his face red as a tomato. _'Aww! Poor Ron!'_ Britney thought, watching him trudge his way over to Snape. He stood in front of the cauldron, staring at it as if willing it to disappear.

"Well?" Snape asked.

Ron gulped nervously, and slowly grabbed the ladle. He looked back up at Snape.

Snape sneered, "Merry Christmas."

Ron slowly put the ladle to his lips and took a sip.

"Oh, he's so brave," Lavender whispered to Parvati.

Parvati nodded to, and answered dramatically, "Yes. Yes, he is." ((A/N: Lol, and the cheesiness of the year award goes to...))

Ron almost immediately fell backwards. Harry caught him just in time, but was soon forced to let him droop to the floor and lay at Snape's feet.

Snape smirked, and commented, "I always knew Weasley was a good-for-nothing Gryffindor.

The Slytherins laughed in agreement, to the Gryffindor's disgust, until one voice said, "No, he's not."

Snape turned around, absolutely repulsed. "Who said that?" he asked.

Harry bravely stepped forward. "I did."

"Standing up for Weasley, Potter?" Draco spit.

_'What the crap is he doing?'_ Britney thought. From across the room, Draco looked at her, knowing that she'd say something. "What are you doing?" she mouthed to him silently.

Snape gave Draco an approving half-smile, then turned to glare at Harry. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor," he said evilly.

He eventually pulled out the vile with the antidote and tossed it to Harry, who quickly administered it to Ron. Ron got up as quickly as he fell down, and Snape dismissed them shortly after.

Britney grabbed her books as quickly as she could and practically ran after Draco. Just outside the Potions door, she grabbed him by the tie and pulled him around the nearest corner, looking him square in the face. ((A/N: Which was like looking up at a skyscraper. D)) "What'd you do in there?" she rasped angrily.

Draco gently pushed her into the wall behind her. "You know, you're pretty cute when you're upset," he whispered in her ear. He leaned down to kiss her, but she pushed him off.

"You're not getting your way out of this one," she said. _'No matter how hot you are,'_ she noted silently. "Why did you do that?"

"I... I'm not sure I can tell you... here," he stuttered.

"Well, you were stupid enough to do it, you should be smart enough to tell me," she snapped back.

Draco's face flushed, and then his cheeks turned a slight twinge of red. "I had my reasons," he shot back defensively.

"It must've been a pretty good one," Britney said sarcastically. "I mean, considering that you broke our promise."

"I had my reasons!" he yelled back.

By now, tears were forming in her eyes. "Never make a promise you can't keep, Draco," she spat back bitterly. And with that she stormed off.


	12. chapter 12

**Chapter #12**

When Britney didn't show up for dinner, Hermione got worried and went searching for her. She found her in the girls dormitory, on her bed, crying. "Hey," Hermione said gently. Britney looked up at her with red, swollen eyes. "What's wrong?"

Britney sniffled. "We got in a fight."

Hermione sat down next to her, full of concern. "About what?" she asked her, smoothing her hair.

"Didn't you see the way he treated Harry?" she muttered from under her arms. "We made a promise. He promised me he'd get along with Harry," she sniffled.

"Sometimes, promises have to be broken," Hermione commented wisely. When Britney didn't say anything, she just left her there to sulk.

The next morning at breakfast, Britney reappeared, looking fine and as if nothing had happened. She sat down next to Ron, and said, "'Morning guys!"

Hermione nodded, but Ron and Harry didn't say anything, and Britney and Hermione began to get suspicious...

The whole day long, Britney completely avoided Draco at all costs, to the extent of running into Filch twice, which normally could've been easily avoided. However, Harry and Ron seemed to be avoided her too. They didn't say anything to her the whole day!

Finally, after dinner, she confronted them in the Common Room. "Hey, Harry?" she asked, sitting in an empty armchair next to the couch where he and Ron were seated. (It was well past midnight, so they were the only ones in the common room.)

Harry just kept his nose in his Arithmancy book, and Ron fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Where's Hermione?" she asked, to nervous to ask them straight out.

"Upstairs. Asleep," Harry answered shortly.

"Speaking of sleep," Ron said, standing up and walking towards the stairs. Harry caught on to the hint. He closed his book and turned to follow.

"Wait!" Britney shouted, standing up also. " Why have you guys been ignoring me today? And don't act stupid, it was quite obvious."

"You're the one who's acting stupid!" Ron spit. "We know what you did!"

Britney was dumbfounded. "I... what did I do?"

"Oh, please," Harry said. " I saw you kissing Draco with my own eyes just after he insulted me!"

It took Britney a while to figure it out. "What?!" she yelled. "I didn't kiss him!"

"I saw you!" Harry snapped.

"Well, you obviously didn't eavesdrop long enough, or else you would've seen me push him off!" she snapped back defensively.

"What's going on here?" a quiet voice behind them asked. It was Hermione. All of the noise had woken her up.

"Well, Britney asked us why we were ignoring her...""She was kissing Draco after...""They were accusing me of..." they all shouted at the same time.

"Hold it!" Hermione interrupted. "Now, one at a time."

"She started it!" Harry and Ron yelled in unison, both pointing their fingers at Britney. Britney made a noise of disgust.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You are so juvenile. It doesn't matter who started it. Now," she said, turning toward Britney, "tell me what happened, from the beginning."

Britney's eyes had now begun to tear up for the second time in the last two days, but this time in anger. "All I did was ask them why they were ignoring me, and they snapped at me!"

"Well, maybe if you didn't 'encourage' Draco," Harry hissed darkly.

"Especially after he insulted Harry!" Ron added.

"I told you!" Britney yelled back. " I didn't kiss him! In fact, I told him off for you! But you didn't hear that part, did you Harry?!"

"You... you told him off?" Harry stuttered.

"'Course she did! You're her friend!" Hermione snapped.

Ron looked around, a confused expression on his face. "But, if you weren't at dinner last night," he thought aloud. "Then where were you? Surely not with Draco?"

"Oh, don't be so silly Ron," Hermione snapped again. "Of course she wasn't. She was upstairs."

"Why?" he asked.

Before Hermione could snap back another answer, Britney stared at her feet and answered, "I really don't like fighting with people, and Draco got me really upset." She grinned. "Plus I was hiding out from Pansy. All those horrible things I did to her... who knows what she would've done if I'd showed up."

Everyone smiled. "You guys should apologize," Hermione suggested.

Harry nodded. "I'msorryIyelledatyou," he mumbled quickly.

"What?" Britney asked.

Harry sighed. "I said, 'I'm sorry I yelled at you'."

Ron nodded in agreement. "And ignored you," he added.

Britney's eyes lit up, and she bobbed her head in acceptance. "Alright, I forgive you," she said.

Hermione cleared her throat to get their attention. "I don't know about you, but it's nearly one, so I'm going to bed now, if that's ok with you."

The group nodded and yawned their silent approval, and then dispersed.


	13. chapter 13 last one!

**Chapter #13**

For about a week or so, the four Gryffindors played around and had fun. They played wizard chess, and had snowball fights, and as much as Hermione wanted them to study, they managed to persuade her otherwise every morning.

One morning Britney woke up to a beautiful snow on the ground, about five inches she guessed. _'No wonder it got so cold,'_ she thought, wrapping herself tighter into her blanket. Hermione was already awake and opening her presents. "About time," she said. "I was starting to get worried about you."

Britney smiled and went to the foot of her bed. In about half an hour, everything lay opened and exposed before her. She had received a diary from Hermione that unlocked with an anti-stealing key, a large picture frame full of pictures of the four of them from Harry, a large assortment of candy from Ron, and a some treacle fudge and a rock cake from Hagrid. She put them all into her trunk for safekeeping, and went downstairs.

"How many people stayed here for Christmas?" Harry asked, watching his knight demolish Ron's pawn. They were playing yet another game of wizard's chess.

"I think it's us, one Slytherin, a Ravenclaw, and two Hufflepuffs," Hermione answered, deep in her Potions essay.

Britney flushed. "When... when is Christmas dinner?" she stuttered. She wasn't sure she was ready to face Draco yet, or even if he would forgive her.

"At five," said Ron, checking his watch. "Oh crap! That's in fifteen minutes!"

"What?!" Britney screamed, standing up anxiously.

Harry cocked an eyebrow, and asked, "Why so eager?"

Britney blushed and sat back down. "No reason."

They abandoned the chess game and split to go get ready for dinner. Within five minutes, Britney and Hermione reappeared in the common room, Harry and Ron waiting. Britney was wearing a simple green dress with her hair tied back with several red ribbons. She hadn't bothered to put on any make-up; she wasn't trying to impress Dumbledore or anything. As for Draco, _'Well, screw Draco,'_ she thought, exiting the portrait hole. Everyone was too content to say anything, so they arrived at the Great Hall in silence.

Once they were seated, Dumbledore rose, and said, "Now that we are all here, we can begin. But first," he added, momentarily pausing to grab his nearby flask and raise it, "Let us make a toast: Here's to our loving friends and family, our past experiences and our future mistakes, the good times and the bad times, but, most important, holiday cheer."

Several chants of "Hear, Hear!" were heard as they all raised their goblets in agreement. The food appeared within seconds, and the clattering of silverware soon filled the large room.

Britney continued to ignore Draco and avoid eye contact, but halfway through her sweet potatoes she felt a sharp shooting pain in her shin. She fought the instinct to glare at Draco, and decided to stare at her plate instead. A moment later, however, she felt it again, and she looked up at Draco. _'That stupid git has a smirk on his face!'_ she thought. Deciding to be ornery, she kicked back. Draco had determined her next move however, and had pulled his legs far beneath his chair, causing her to hit the chair leg, scooting his chair backward.

The sound filled the hall, and everyone stopped eating to stare at Draco. He quietly murmured, "Muscle flinch," and everyone went back to eating.

Britney smirked and sniggered behind her hand. The rest of dinner went rather uneventfully, unless you count one of the Hufflepuffs dropping their spoon on the floor as "exciting", and there was little conversation.

Once everyone was full, the food disappeared, and people one-by-one began to excuse themselves. As Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Britney got up to leave, so did Draco. Just outside the doors, Britney felt his hand on her elbow. "We need to talk," he hissed in her ear.

Britney called to the others, "I'll catch up with you later!" just as Draco pulled her around the closest corner.

"We need to talk," he repeated.

"I..." she stuttered. She looked in Draco's eyes, hoping that they would help her to know what to say, but instead they only refueled her anger. "I'm still mad at you! I... I don't think I'm ready to talk yet." As she walked off, she noticed the hurt look on Draco's face. She mentally sighed and thought, _'Why do I always have to be the bad guy?'_ She sulked quickly back to the common room, and took a seat in a far corner. She needed time to think, alone.

Britney sat there for well over an hour, many thoughts racing through her head at top speeds, and watching the group eat marshmallows with hot chocolate next to the fireplace. She wanted to forgive Draco, yes, deep down, but she felt it was unfair to Harry. _'But then again, Harry forgave me, even when he was still upset and thought I was guilty,'_ she thought, then gasped. _'Harry forgave me. He gave me a second chance. I've been mean this whole time! I should've forgiven Draco a long time ago!'_ Determined not to be the cold, unforgiving person this time, she grabbed Harry's invisibility cloak, (_'he'll understand.'_), and went to go find the only person who could help her get to Draco... Sir Cadigen.

After about half an hour of searching, she found him, in his portrait, on the third floor next to an empty classroom. He was holding a carton of eggnog, and when he spoke, his speech was interrupted with hiccups, and was terribly slurred.

"Sir Cadigen?" she asked politely, getting his attention.

"'Ello, mi (hiccup) lady. What is it you (hiccup) want?" he asked her, leaning forward in his horse's saddle, nearly falling off.

"I need the password for the Slytherin dungeons," she stated, hoping that his eggnog was strong enough.

"I can't (hiccup) give that out," he said. But seeing Britney's downcast face, he quickly added, "But you be (hiccup) an exception." He took a quick swig of his eggnog before finishing. "I'd try 'Muggle-born' (hiccup) if I were you."

Britney smiled. "Thank you Sir Cadigen!" she called from over her shoulder, already on her way. From behind her, she heard a faint, "You're (hiccup) welcome missy."

"Muggle-born," she whispered, hugging the borrowed invisibility cloak close around her, and hoping that Sir Cadigen was right. Sure enough, the stone wall transformed into a makeshift doorway, and she eagerly entered.

She had to cover her mouth to stifle her gasp of surprise. The Slytherin common room was exquisite! Everything was beautiful, rare, and extremely detailed. However, she noted that it reflected its residents well: mercilessly cold.

Once over her shock, she quickly looked around to see if Draco was there, she didn't know if she would want to go looking for the boy's rooms otherwise, but he was there, sitting in a plush, comfy-looking hunter green armchair, next to the fire, sipping... hot chocolate? She walked immediately over to him, as quietly as she could, and sat down on the nearby couch.

Draco must've noticed the sudden dent in the couch, or heard her, because he stared a tit curiously with a sideways glance. He must've remembered that there was only one person in Hogwarts who owned an invisibility cloak, because he said, "Is that you Britney?"

Britney grinned to herself under the secrecy of the cloak. _'I've got him where I want him,'_ she thought, getting up from the couch as slowly as she could. _'I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a little fun, now would it?'_

Draco sat rigid in his seat, staring oddly at the spot where she had just sat. She walked quickly in her light-footed way to stand behind Draco's chair. She leaned her head over so it was close to Draco's neck. She lightly blew on an exposed patch of skin between his collar and his hair. He shivered vigorously, almost spilling his drink. He turned his head so quickly that Britney didn't have time to react. Their heads bumped together painfully, sending Draco's hot chocolate into his lap, and Britney sprawling on the floor clutching her head.

"Shit!" Draco exclaimed, trying to find something to soak up the hot liquid other than his skin. "I knew it was you." In the few seconds of chaos, the cloak had fallen off of her shoulders and was lying on the floor next to her.

As soon as she stopped seeing stars, she got up and flung off her cloak, and began dabbing the place where the hot chocolate had spilled on Draco's legs. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry Draco," she kept stuttering and repeating.

When it appeared that no more hot chocolate would absorb into the cloak, he grabbed Britney's chin (she was still stammering her apologies) and made them lock eyes. "Sorry about what?" he asked, probing her with his steel gray eyes.

"The... the hot chocolate," she said, trying not to whimper under his gaze.

"What are you really doing here?" he inquired.

_'God, he's like the human lie detector,'_ she thought. She had to close her eyes to tell him the truth, which he already knew. "IactuallycametoapologizebecauseIrealizethatIwaswrongto..." Draco cut her off with a kiss.

"Apology accepted," he growled, then deepening the kiss.

_'Mm... he tastes like hot chocolate...'_


End file.
